Preparing for a July on Jupiter

(March 18, 1998 01:18 a.m. EST http://www.nando.net) -- Holidays in space could soon make the giant leap from science fiction to science fact. Tourism is the biggest industry in the world, and it should come as no surprise that travel entrepreneurs are constantly looking for the next hit destination. Now, it seems, the only way is up.

The idea of space tourism received a huge boost recently week with NASA's announcement that there apparently is a huge store of frozen water on the moon. Water -- or the lack of it -- has been a highly limiting factor in space exploration. It is needed to build, grow food and, of course, drink. It is also made up of hydrogen and oxygen, the two fundamental ingredients in rocket fuel.

For pioneers of space tourism, this discovery could not have come at a better time and a Japanese firm is already said to be developing plans for a hotel on the moon. Plans to build the first "space hotel" have also been revealed by Wimberly Arson Tong & Goo, a well-established architectural practice that specializes in vacation resorts.

It sounds far-fetched, but they are convinced their cosmic retreat will be circling 200 miles above the Earth by 2017. The hotel will be launched by rocket tanks already salvaged from shuttle missions.

Guests will enjoy -- or, perhaps, endure -- nutrient-enriched food grown outside soil and will experience weightlessness. Sufferers from "space sickness" will be able to take time out in a room with artificial gravity. Compulsory games will be organized to prevent visitors' muscles from atrophying. Washing could also prove to be an interesting challenge; the best advice is not to let go of the soap.

It sounds more like punishment than pleasure, but WAT&G vice president Howard Wolff offers some reassurance: "We hope to strike a balance between an out-of-this-world experience and providing some creature comforts."

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin has found a post-Apollo role in the world of space vacations, which he now spends much of his time developing and promoting. He is convinced that the rewards for the first organization to offer a weekend break beyond the upper atmosphere will be enormous.

John Spencer, director of the Space Tourism Society, agrees: "Space tourism is by far the hottest subject one can talk about for space commercialization." Both men see the industry mimicking cruise lines, with shuttle craft ferrying passengers to giant space cruisers in constant orbit.

Space tour operators will eventually be able to name their price for a trip to the final frontier. But the main hurdle in the travel space race is the fact that present-day space technology is still far too expensive. Peter Diamandis, president of the X-Prize Foundation, believes he has triggered the final sprint to make rockets cheap enough for space tourism to become feasible.

The foundation has offered $10 million to the first non-governmental team to project someone into space on two consecutive flights within two weeks. One contender is Britain's Steve Bennett, an amateur rocket scientist and founder of the Starchaser Foundation.

Bennett is convinced the prize is within his grasp and already has launched a 50-kilo payload into space on board a three-stage rocket. Only money is preventing him from building a spaceship, he says. "With $3.3 million I could easily do it in two years. So far I've only got $165,000."

It is already possible to get quite close to the space experience. A company called ZERO-G operates parabolic flights -- used by astronauts to re-create weightlessness -- from Space City in Russia.

More daring thrill-seekers (with deeper pockets) can now take trips to the "edge of space" in MiG-25 fighter aircraft with a firm called Space Adventures. The flights reach an altitude of 70,000 feet and travel at twice the speed of sound. Passengers who don't black out are treated to a tantalizing view of the Earth's curvature.

Space Adventures is now accepting deposits for actual space flights. The journey will cost some $99,000, but a mere $6,600 is enough to secure a place on the waiting list.

By RICHARD KNIGHT, The Guardian. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.